Siding clamp



@ 1 1942- R. E. BL-OMSTROM 2,291,020

I SIDING CLAMP Filed Oct. 2a, 1940 Patented July 28, 1942 Unite s'rarssr ren'r OFFICE SIDING'QLAMP Ray E. Blomstrom, Pillager, Minn.

Application October 26, 1940', Serial No. 362,973

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for moving and holding boards or similar members in desired position. While the device might have various applications, it particularly is designed for use in arranging and holding siding, weather stripping or weatherboard, clapboards and the like. In placing such boards in position they are successively nailed to joists or studding and extend transversely thereof. It is necessary to bring the board to be nailed into proper position and the board to be placed and nailed is often warped or bent. It must be forcibly brought into engaging parallel or proper position to the boards already in place.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and efficient tool for engaging the board to be placed or nailed and moving the same into proper position and holding it in such position until it is secured in place.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a very simple and efficient tool which can be readily changed to be either a right hand or a left hand tool. This enables it to be used at either end of a section of boards, etc.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a simple and efiicient tool for moving and holding boards, such as siding, into place including a lever handle and means on said handle for engaging with the siding for holding the tool in tightened position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of the tool showing the same applied to the boards to be operated upon;

Fig. 2 is a view as seen from the left of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the tool, another position of the parts being shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the tool in reverse position to that shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a partial View showing the holding pawl on the tool, said pawl being indicated in another position in dotted lines; and

Fig. 6 is a view as seen from the right of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, a device or tool is shown comprising a lever member ID. Lever I0 is formed as an elongated bar and as a cylindrical handle portion Illa, extending at right angles thereto at its end. The lever is thus a handle lever and the same has pivotally connected thereto in spaced relation adjacent the end opposite that having portion Illa, members II and I 2. Member II is connected to lever II] by a rivet I3 having countersunk heads in both member II and lever I0. Member Ii extends transversely of lever Ill at right angles thereto and then is bent to extend in inclined position and is provided with a hooked end terminating in a fiat rectangular portion Ila. Portion IIa is disposed in a vertical plane at one side of the plane occupied by lever I0. Member I2 is pivoted to lever It by a nutted bolt M which has a head countersunk in lever I0. Member I2 is provided with a plurality of holes I261 in any one of which bolt I4 may be disposed. It will be seen that member I2 is at the side of lever Ill opposite that on which member I I is disposed and member I2 also extends transversely of lever I0 substantially at right angles thereto'in a direction opposite to that in which member II extends. Member I2 is also bent to extend in an inclined direction some distance from lever IE) and is provided with a curved hooked end lib. The terminal part of portion I2b is disposed in a plane at one side of the plane occupied by lever I0.

Lever Ii] has pivoted thereto adjacent handle Illa a pointed pawl I5 which curves away from lever II] in a direction opposite to that in which handle Illa extends. Pawl I5-is' connected to lever I0 by a rivet l6 countersunk into pawl [5. Stop lugs lilb and H10 are formed on lever Ill'against which the sides of pawl I5 engage to hold said pawl in operative position with the tool in right hand or left hand position respectively.

In operation, the boards 20 will be nailed to the supporting studding or joists. Assuming the lower boards 20 to be in position the board 2001, at the top will be placed in engaging position with the top board 20 already secured. It may be that the top board Zila will not fit into proper position. The tool is then applied with the hook portion I2a. engaging under the edge of the topboard 20 already secured. The portion Ha is. engaged along the top edge of the board 20a- It is usually the case that the boards are pro-- vided with interengaging tongues and grooves.

It will be seen that the portion I Ia can conveni-- ently be placed along the ledge at one side of thetongue 2% of the board to be secured. With members II and I2 so placed lever III is now swung downward as shown in Fig. 1 and this.

action pulls downward on member I I and upward downward to bring board 20a into proper position 7 it can be held in this position by engaging the pawl l5 with the board 20 already in place. The operator can now nail the top board 20a in position. The operation is repeated with each successive board which it is necessary to move to proper nailing position. When the operator gets to the right hand end of the boards as shown in Fig. 1 and pulls the board 20a into place with the tool the lever I0 and parts II and 12 will interfere with the nailing. The tool as shown in Fig. 1 could be called a right hand tool with lever l0 extending to the right. The tool can be readily changed to a left hand tool by swinging members II and I2 about their pivots so that they occupy a reverse position relative to lever I0. Lever l0 then extends to the left as shown in Fig. 4. The tool in this position can be applied to the right hand ends of the boards and the end portions of the boards will then be at the right hand end of the tool and beyond the same. The operator can then readily drive the nails without any interference from the tool. It will be noted that pawl l5 can also be swung into opposite positions so that it will be in proper engaging position whether the tool is in the position as a right hand tool or a left hand tool. It will be seen that the members II and 12 can swing past each other when they are rotated through substantially 180 degrees to change the tool from a right hand to a left hand tool or vice versa.

From the above description it will be seen that I have provided an extremely simple and highly efficient tool for use in placing and nailing boards such as described. The operation of the tool is quite easy and rapid and the placing of the boards is greatly speeded up and facilitated. The device has been amply demonstrated in actual practice, found to be very successful and efficient and is being commercially made.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for holding boards for nailing having in combination, an elongated lever having a handle at one end, members pivoted to said lever in spaced relation longitudinally thereof adjacent its other end and extending at opposite sides transversely of said lever, said members extending to vertical planes at one side of said lever and having hook portions at their free ends with a part disposed in said planes respectively constructed and arranged to engage respectively the edges of boards to move one of them into desired position, said members and lever being swingble past each other about their pivoted connections so that said device may be arranged in operative position with said handle extending either to the right or to the left and means on said lever adjacent said handle to hold said lever with the device in tightened position, said means being movable to either side of said lever for use with the lever extending either to the right or to the left.

2. A device for holding boards for nailing having in combination, an elongated lever having a handle at one end, members pivoted to said lever in spaced relation longitudinally thereof adjacent its other end and extending at opposite sides transversely of said lever, said members extending to vertical planes at one side of said lever and having hook portions at their free ends with parts disposed in said planes respectively constructed and arranged to engage respectively the edges of boards to move one of them into desired position, said members and lever being swingable past each other about their pivoted connections so that said device may be arranged in operative position with said handle extending either to the right or to the left, a pawl pivoted to said lever adjacent said handle for holding said lever with said device in tightened position, said pawl being swingable to either side of said lever so as to be used with said lever extending to the right or to the left and stop means on said lever engaged by said pawl when in holding position.

3. A device for holding boards for nailing having in combination, an elongated lever, a member pivoted at one end of said lever and arranged to extend transversely thereof, said member being bent to extend toward the plane of said lever and having a hook portion at its end adapted to engage over the edge of a board, a second member pivoted to said lever adjacent said mentioned member at the opposite side thereof and bent to extend away from the plane of said lever and having a hook portion at its end disposed substantially in the same plane as said first mentioned hook portion, said lever having a handle projecting at right angles thereto at its other end and extending in a direction opposite to that in which said members are bent, a pawl adjacent said handle pivoted substantially centrally transversely of said lever, adapted to be moved to position so as to be directed at opposite sides of said lever and stops on said lever holding said pawl in said positions, said members being capable of being rotated about their pivots through degrees to swing past each other and be reversed in position so that said lever will project in opposite operative positions.

RAY E. BLOMSTROM. 

